Archive for the ‘triathlete’ Category

While the bicycle was invented in the early 1800’s, designs of the bicycle stand can be found from the late 1800’s. I believe the Wright Brothers, two bicycle mechanics from Ohio at the time, even played a role in the early ingenuity of the bike stand after they opened their bicycle repair shop in 1893. I heard the Wright Cycle Shop at Greenfield Village in Michigan has a bicycle stand on display there, although I haven’t seen it personally.

As the bicycle began to take shape in the late 1880’s, the motorcycle came along when Gottlieb Daimler, a German engineer, put a four-stroke piston engine on a wooden bicycle frame. The motorcycle eventually evolved operationally and its weight increased significantly. In the 1940’s, I suspect an inventor came up with idea of the kickstand as a means to keeping these heavy bikes upright and functioning properly. Of course, the bicycle became a natural fit for them as well and the bicycle stand likely faded out around this period.

I’ve discussed in previous blogs the benefits of a portable bike stand. While the main reason a cyclist purchases a bicycle stand is for storage, the ability to take it with you should not be overlooked when making your bike stand purchase. This was reaffirmed this past weekend when my wife and I traveled to a nearby state park.

As cars and trucks filled the parking lot on an unusually warm winter day, mountain bikes and road bikes were unleashed from their four-wheel transporters without much consideration where to stand them. We saw new bikes roll away from their vehicles and crash to the pavement. We saw bicycles laid down on the concrete while cyclists got ready to ride. We saw people struggling trying to pump their tires while their bikes shifted on the sloping surface. You could tell what started out to be a beautiful day in the park was turning into frustration for some cyclists.

We, of course, made our bicycle stands the first things we took out of our car, giving us a secured spot to put our bikes. I especially like having two EZ Bike Stands joined by an EZ Connector because the 10 lbs. of bike stand weight can withstand stronger winds and more rugged terrain. The freedom this provided us as we prepared for our ride was incredible. And after a good, long ride, our bike stands provided a convenient and easy place to put our bikes as we prepared to pack up our car.

Besides traveling to a local area to ride, a portable bike stand is fantastic for traveling overnight with your bicycle too. Hotels, motels, cabins, and inns appreciate cyclists more when they protect their property from grease and scratches caused by bicycles. And the check-in process goes a lot smoother when your bike is resting in a bike stand and not on you or their counter.

So, when thinking about purchasing a bike stand, don’t forget to consider whether it’s a portable bike stand or not. You’ll soon enjoy the additional benefit the next time you travel with your bike.

We’ve counted down our Top 10 most popular uses of a bike stand, some which may surprise you.

10. Selling bicycles. One effective way to sell more bicycles is to display them better. Since space is limited in most bike shops, put the bikes that interest customers on bike stands. It’s more appealing to have 360º access and views of a bike than having them lean against something.9. Improving triathlon transition times. A bike stand allows you to practice T1 and T2 to shave seconds off your transition times. Coaches, professionals, and age-groupers have become fans of the EZ Bike Stand because it’s easier to use and protects your spokes better than most bike stands.8. Overnight travel. Hotels, motels, cabins, and inns will appreciate you more when their furniture and curtains are left “ungreased” because you brought your portable bike stand along with you. It also makes hotel lobby check-in a lot easier.7. Changing wheels. Not all bike stands have this capability, but because the EZ Bike Stand is adjustable and uniquely designed, it can securely hold your bike by the front or back wheel making the wheel change and alignment quite simple. Whereas, a “one-size-fits-all” bike stand may be less secure and tilt your bike during a wheel change.6. Traveling to group rides or events. Make your portable bike stand the first thing you take out of your car and you’ll always have a place to put your bike while preparing and returning from your ride.5. Cleaning. With a bike stand, cleaning your bicycle becomes fun and easy, and not so messy. Step away after you’ve cleaned your bike and enjoy your sparkling bicycle standing on its own in the sunlight.4. Repairs. Simple repairs and bike maintenance are made easy when you use a bike stand. A quick adjustment or small tweaking shouldn’t require using clamps or elevating your bike.3. Lubing chains. A bike stand should allow for a smooth counter-clockwise rotation of your pedals making lubing your chain hassle-free.2. Pumping tires. Whether you ride everyday, once a week, or longer, your tires lose air pressure. A bike stand makes pumping tires quick and easy. The EZ Bike Stand has an additional cut-out to properly position the valve stem and minimize the risk of a valve stem flat while pumping up your tires.1. Storage. If you simply add up the time a bicycle spends in a bike stand, you’ll get storage as the overwhelming number one use of a bike stand. While we believe this, alone, is a good reason to own a bike stand, we sure like the other popular uses too!

I never put much thought into what defines a bike stand and a bike rack until recently. I’ve had a clear idea of the difference between the two until I heard others speak about our EZ Bike Stand as a rack. So, is a bike stand also a bike rack? Are these two words interchangeable? In the South where I live, dinner and supper have two different meanings. But for others, it means the same thing. The word flat could also be different if you’re American or British. So, do people in different parts of the country or world consider our EZ Bike Stand, a bike stand or a bike rack?

Perhaps it’s not a geographical difference at all, but how the EZ Bike Stand is used that determines what you call it. While the EZ Bike Stand is portable, I’ve heard some people refer to it as their garage bike rack which tends to have a permanent sound to it. I have also heard people describe it as a floor bicycle rack, stationary stand, and bike maintenance stand, each having a usefulness appeal to it.

I guess it doesn’t matter what you call it, as long as you enjoy it! Oh, and by the way, the United States Patent Office calls it a bicycle support stand.

Occasionally, we get asked questions about our EZ Bike Stand and other products. So I felt compelled to list a few frequently asked questions:

1. What do I do when my EZ Bike Stand doesn’t tighten, even after turning the knob?

We ship bike stands assembled and unassembled. When receiving an unassembled EZ Bike Stand, make sure the rose bud ends of the slide snap into place. Hit the slide hard! You won’t damage it. The ends must be in all the way to keep the sides tight. This will enable you to secure your tire when turning the knob.

2. Will the EZ Bike Stand hold up my mountain bike?

Yes, the EZ Bike Stand was designed to hold up bicycles with tire widths up to 2.75 inches wide. In 2010, we enhanced the cooling process during manufacturing to give mountain bikes even greater stability.

3. What’s the best way to secure my front wheel using the One-Wraps®?

The optimum way we’ve found was sliding the One-Wrap® between the water bottle carriage and the frame of your bike. There is a small opening between the screws securing the carriage to the frame. Slide it through this opening, then wrap it through the wheel between the spokes, and tighten it back onto itself. Straps can be shortened with scissors.

Do I need a bike stand? This question seems reasonable since leaning your bike against an object takes only a few seconds and costs nothing to do. So, why purchase one?

For years, I leaned my bike against a wall in my garage. Sure the wall was scratched up a bit, but it was only a garage. Of course wall space wasn’t always available, so scratches occurred elsewhere in the garage too.

As my family became more involved in cycling the wall became cluttered with bikes. In fact, we owned seven bicycles and parking them single file against a wall was impossible. So I tried the side-by-side approach, but this led to frequent crashes and dings to walls, cars, bicycles, and everything else near the bikes.

I saw an ad for a bike hoist and thought it would be my solution. I figured raising our bikes up to the ceiling would give us space, which it did; however using bike hoists was another matter. Personally, I never felt our bikes were secure with hooks under the seat and handlebar. This made walking underneath a hanging bike feel like walking under a ladder. In addition, hoists took time and effort to use before and after each ride, the rope eventually frayed and wouldn’t operate properly, and my wife and daughter couldn’t use the hoists without my assistance. In my opinion, hoists make sense for boats, not bicycles.

Besides a place to park our bikes, I wanted a place to prepare for our rides. Leaning my bike or having my wife hold it while I lubed our chains, pumped our tires, or changed out our wheels wasn’t fun…and cycling was meant to be fun! Then after rides it was the same thing. I didn’t have a good spot to clean our bikes or do maintenance on them.

So, do I need a bike stand? Absolutely! It’s one of the most overlooked bicycle accessories.

Customers frequently tell us how much they “love” their EZ Bike Stand and I fully understand why. The EZ Bike Stand is like having an extra pair of hands around…plus, you don’t have to yell, “Honey, can you help me for a few minutes?” anymore.